"Where’s the Power Button?" Robot Rampages at US Hotpot Restaurant, Staff Struggle to Subdue It

Promotional Robot Malfunctions at US Restaurant

X (formerly Twitter)

A promotional robot malfunctioned and rampaged inside a hotpot restaurant in California, United States, sparking controversy.

Three Employees Had to Restrain the Robot

X (X Twitter)

Tansu Yegen, founder of Appcircle and a well-known influencer, released video footage of the robot exhibiting abnormal behavior at the restaurant through his X (formerly Twitter) account on March 17 (local time).

The released footage shows the robot, which had been dancing, suddenly striking tables and plates of food one after another. During this, chopsticks were seen flying everywhere. The robot was wearing an orange apron with the words "I'M GOOD" written on it.

Restaurant staff ultimately had no choice but to intervene due to the robot’s rampage. One employee was seen grabbing the back of the robot’s neck while operating a mobile phone, apparently searching for the robot control application. Subsequently, three employees worked together to finally subdue the robot, even ducking to avoid the robot’s sauce-covered hands.

The video garnered nearly 5 million views and attracted significant attention. While many online viewers responded by calling it a "funny video," some pointed out concerns that there was no visible emergency stop button. One commenter said, "Why doesn’t the robot have a power-off button? You shouldn’t need to open an app to turn off the robot." This incident reportedly took place at a Haidilao restaurant in California as part of a promotional event for the Disney movie "Zootopia 2."

Robot Rampages at Chinese Research Institute

At a robotics research institute in China, a humanoid robot is causing a disturbance. Humanoid Robot Guide to the Galaxy YouTube

This is not the first time a robot has exhibited abnormal behavior. On March 5 (local time), in Macau, a woman in her 70s was startled by a suddenly approaching robot while walking and was transported to the hospital. The woman was reportedly looking at her mobile phone while walking when the robot approached her from behind, causing her surprise. This robot was a promotional device operated by a local education center, and the incident occurred while a staff member was controlling it through both programming and remote operation.

In addition, in May last year, a humanoid robot under development at a robotics research institute in China became uncontrollable, causing controversy. Surveillance camera footage showed two engineers testing the robot while it was suspended from a crane, when the robot suddenly raised both its arms and threatened the engineers. The engineers backed away to avoid it, and the robot’s abnormal movements caused a computer monitor and a workbench to fall to the floor. This appears to have been caused by an error during the testing phase.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.